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He doesn’t mention where you should keep your valuables. It’s easy to say where not to, but then offer a suggestion for a safe place to store stuff like a passp

by jraby3 4y ago

He doesn’t mention where you should keep your valuables. It’s easy to say where not to, but then offer a suggestion for a safe place to store stuff like a passport or cash.

graderjs 4y ago
Yeah that was my next Google search. I've got you covered. https://www.luggageandsuitcase.com/where-to-hide-valuables-in-a-hotel-room/ https://www.luggageandsuitcase.com/where-to-hide-valuables-i...
hackish 4y ago
Standard hotel rooms don’t have many hiding places that won’t be eventually apparent to an intruder with time or a knowledgeable hotel employee. Considering this, I think ideal locations would be within objects that can’t simply be flipped over or moved to discover your secrets. For example, you might hide your cash or documents in between a framed print and its backboard. You might open the room safe and reset it to the default state with your passport in a black envelope taped snug against the back ceiling of the enclosure. A committed intruder might find hiding places like these eventually, but it could take an unacceptable amount of time for them to consider it.
- SwiftyBug 4y ago
  I thought you shouldn't leave your passport in the hotel room. Shouldn't we be carrying our passports at all times while traveling abroad, as it is the only valid identification on us? I never worried about where to leave the passport because it's always with me in a money belt inside my pants.
  - interactivecode 4y ago
    yes you are required to have it on you at all times, it's not just for border crossings. It's the only valid id outside of your own country.
    - schoen 4y ago
      But not every country requires people to carry IDs at all times, and even countries that do may not punish tourists for having some other form of ID plus a willingness to retrieve their passports if necessary.
    - ourmandave 4y ago
      This was definitely true when I stayed at the Castle Wolfenstein Airbnb.
    - kingofpandora 4y ago
      That's not at all true.
  - schoen 4y ago
    I've been told to carry a photocopy of your passport. If you're stopped by police and they insist on seeing the real thing for some reason (like to check your visa), you can tell them what hotel you're staying at and they can take you back there to get it. While police might be annoyed by this, you may be unlikely to encounter a situation in which it's necessary at all, and it probably won't endanger you unless you're in a place where police habitually try to extort foreigners, in which case it could provide a new pretext for extortion. The best advice probably varies by country, depending on local crime patterns and also on the attitudes of local authorities to visitors (or to visitors like you).
  - thorin 4y ago
    Every I've been at a reasonable hotel with a safe I've left my passport in the safe and I've also had a copy of it somewhere on my person or luggage. I also emailed a scan of it to myself. I've travelled a bit around all the continents going back to mid 90s. The biggest issue I had when I got my passport stolen in Costa Rica was not getting my British temporary passport reissued, that was relatively straightforward. It was waiting in line to get an ESTA to transit the US on the return flight. Felt sorry for all the local guys in line to get their document processed. It was annoying because I didn't want to leave the airport in Florida or wherever I was transiting. I remember in Nepal kayaking and basically taking all of our valuables on my body while on the river as we weren't sure we'd ever see our bus/driver again. This suspicion was actually proved valid when our bus was subjected to a minor terrorist attack!
dageshi 4y ago
An appropriately sized pacsafe is what I use. https://pacsafe.co.uk/collections/portable-safes-bag-protectors https://pacsafe.co.uk/collections/portable-safes-bag-protect... Even something as simple as having a bag that locks and putting your valuables in it and locking it would probably deal with 90% of issues. If you're an average person travelling the risk you face is from the hotel house keeping staff and there's really two types of theft there. First is opportunistic where the staff can look inside your luggage and find small potentially valuable things they can steal but which won't be immediately obvious and you might think you've just misplaced in your luggage somewhere. These people don't want the police called in, they want to keep their jobs, so they'll generally steal in a manner that makes it difficult for you to know if it was really stolen or if it was just misplaced. The second is, a member of staff is finishing or planning on leaving and they'll go to greater lengths to more obviously steal any available stuff before leaving for good. This is a bit more common in countries that use a lot of seasonal migrant labour and the staff are going home on holiday and want a final payday by hitting multiple rooms before they go. But the second scenario is much rarer than the first. Honestly most theft from hotel rooms is just opportunistic and a simple locked bag that's tethered to something immovable will solve it. I use a pacsafe for peace of mind, there's really nothing beyond it you can reasonably do that increases the security of valuables in a room.
- Cthulhu_ 4y ago
  The lockpicking lawyer reviewed a number of these, a lot of the ones from Amazon are actually pretty bad and don't resist a simple knife. Mind you, if that's the case, at least you have some evidence that you were robbed. When it comes to passports, it's probably best to keep them on you. I have a pouch that goes around my neck (and I put it under my shirt), probably the safest place to keep it hidden and on your person.
  - dageshi 4y ago
    I have done that in the past. I just reached a point where honestly I felt like the hassle of using a hidden pocket all the time just wasn't worth it. I generally have a nice hard case wheeled suitcase for my luggage, I bike cable that to something immovable and inside I tether the pacsafe to one of the rails where the suitcase handle runs. It's enough peace of mind for me. 99% of casual theft isn't going to try and open the bag, if they do then they have to deal with the pacsafe. If someone is absolutely determined then they'll get through all that of course, but as you say, you will know it's happened and the police are going to get involved. The number of thieves realistically willing to do that ain't going to be that high because the payoff of what might be in there is unknown. I travelled continuously for a year at one point and this strat served me well enough.
midoridensha 4y ago
>It’s easy to say where not to, but then offer a suggestion for a safe place to store stuff like a passport or cash. Simple: you keep those things on your person whenever you're away from your hotel room. Use a "traveler's wallet" which hides under your clothes. You should never be without your passport in a foreign country; it's generally illegal and it's the only way to properly identify you.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  I’m usually in developed countries with pickpocketing as a problem, so I’m confident in showing my drivers license if I get controlled by police, but if I lose my passport, I’m in trouble. But what if you have 2 passports? Carrying both is a SPoF. Where do you hide the additional?
  - Cthulhu_ 4y ago
    > Where do you hide the additional? Definitely not in the room safe, that's the first thing they'll look through. Maybe the hotel has their own safe? But that involves trusting the staff. I think all bets are off if someone with intent breaks into your room and does a full upheaval, but hiding it in your suitcase or e.g. sticking it with some tape under a cabinet or drawer might be adequate.
    - Scoundreller 4y ago
      Reminds me of my college days, we’d play “trophy bowl” where teams of 2 against 2 would have to find a hidden object and then place it in a room cup in the centre of the room (or a bowl of a trophy if one was available). Our preferred strategy was to have my teammate pin down the other two so I could search the room uninhibited. Made for great entertainment for anyone watching.
    - ghaff 4y ago
      The other thing with putting things in a hotel safe is forgetting them when you leave. I basically hardly ever put clothes in a closet or a drawer in a hotel because over the course of hundreds of stays, I will forget at some point.
CleaveIt2Beaver 4y ago
Put 'em in a ziplock. Pull out the top drawer of the dresser. Tape baggie to back interior. Replace drawer.

by jraby3 4y ago

He doesn’t mention where you should keep your valuables. It’s easy to say where not to, but then offer a suggestion for a safe place to store stuff like a passport or cash.

graderjs 4y ago

Yeah that was my next Google search. I've got you covered. https://www.luggageandsuitcase.com/where-to-hide-valuables-in-a-hotel-room/ https://www.luggageandsuitcase.com/where-to-hide-valuables-i...

hackish 4y ago

Standard hotel rooms don’t have many hiding places that won’t be eventually apparent to an intruder with time or a knowledgeable hotel employee. Considering this, I think ideal locations would be within objects that can’t simply be flipped over or moved to discover your secrets. For example, you might hide your cash or documents in between a framed print and its backboard. You might open the room safe and reset it to the default state with your passport in a black envelope taped snug against the back ceiling of the enclosure. A committed intruder might find hiding places like these eventually, but it could take an unacceptable amount of time for them to consider it.

SwiftyBug 4y ago
I thought you shouldn't leave your passport in the hotel room. Shouldn't we be carrying our passports at all times while traveling abroad, as it is the only valid identification on us? I never worried about where to leave the passport because it's always with me in a money belt inside my pants.
- interactivecode 4y ago
  yes you are required to have it on you at all times, it's not just for border crossings. It's the only valid id outside of your own country.
  - schoen 4y ago
    But not every country requires people to carry IDs at all times, and even countries that do may not punish tourists for having some other form of ID plus a willingness to retrieve their passports if necessary.
  - ourmandave 4y ago
    This was definitely true when I stayed at the Castle Wolfenstein Airbnb.
  - kingofpandora 4y ago
    That's not at all true.
- schoen 4y ago
  I've been told to carry a photocopy of your passport. If you're stopped by police and they insist on seeing the real thing for some reason (like to check your visa), you can tell them what hotel you're staying at and they can take you back there to get it. While police might be annoyed by this, you may be unlikely to encounter a situation in which it's necessary at all, and it probably won't endanger you unless you're in a place where police habitually try to extort foreigners, in which case it could provide a new pretext for extortion. The best advice probably varies by country, depending on local crime patterns and also on the attitudes of local authorities to visitors (or to visitors like you).
- thorin 4y ago
  Every I've been at a reasonable hotel with a safe I've left my passport in the safe and I've also had a copy of it somewhere on my person or luggage. I also emailed a scan of it to myself. I've travelled a bit around all the continents going back to mid 90s. The biggest issue I had when I got my passport stolen in Costa Rica was not getting my British temporary passport reissued, that was relatively straightforward. It was waiting in line to get an ESTA to transit the US on the return flight. Felt sorry for all the local guys in line to get their document processed. It was annoying because I didn't want to leave the airport in Florida or wherever I was transiting. I remember in Nepal kayaking and basically taking all of our valuables on my body while on the river as we weren't sure we'd ever see our bus/driver again. This suspicion was actually proved valid when our bus was subjected to a minor terrorist attack!

dageshi 4y ago

An appropriately sized pacsafe is what I use. https://pacsafe.co.uk/collections/portable-safes-bag-protectors https://pacsafe.co.uk/collections/portable-safes-bag-protect... Even something as simple as having a bag that locks and putting your valuables in it and locking it would probably deal with 90% of issues. If you're an average person travelling the risk you face is from the hotel house keeping staff and there's really two types of theft there. First is opportunistic where the staff can look inside your luggage and find small potentially valuable things they can steal but which won't be immediately obvious and you might think you've just misplaced in your luggage somewhere. These people don't want the police called in, they want to keep their jobs, so they'll generally steal in a manner that makes it difficult for you to know if it was really stolen or if it was just misplaced. The second is, a member of staff is finishing or planning on leaving and they'll go to greater lengths to more obviously steal any available stuff before leaving for good. This is a bit more common in countries that use a lot of seasonal migrant labour and the staff are going home on holiday and want a final payday by hitting multiple rooms before they go. But the second scenario is much rarer than the first. Honestly most theft from hotel rooms is just opportunistic and a simple locked bag that's tethered to something immovable will solve it. I use a pacsafe for peace of mind, there's really nothing beyond it you can reasonably do that increases the security of valuables in a room.

Cthulhu_ 4y ago
The lockpicking lawyer reviewed a number of these, a lot of the ones from Amazon are actually pretty bad and don't resist a simple knife. Mind you, if that's the case, at least you have some evidence that you were robbed. When it comes to passports, it's probably best to keep them on you. I have a pouch that goes around my neck (and I put it under my shirt), probably the safest place to keep it hidden and on your person.
- dageshi 4y ago
  I have done that in the past. I just reached a point where honestly I felt like the hassle of using a hidden pocket all the time just wasn't worth it. I generally have a nice hard case wheeled suitcase for my luggage, I bike cable that to something immovable and inside I tether the pacsafe to one of the rails where the suitcase handle runs. It's enough peace of mind for me. 99% of casual theft isn't going to try and open the bag, if they do then they have to deal with the pacsafe. If someone is absolutely determined then they'll get through all that of course, but as you say, you will know it's happened and the police are going to get involved. The number of thieves realistically willing to do that ain't going to be that high because the payoff of what might be in there is unknown. I travelled continuously for a year at one point and this strat served me well enough.

midoridensha 4y ago

>It’s easy to say where not to, but then offer a suggestion for a safe place to store stuff like a passport or cash. Simple: you keep those things on your person whenever you're away from your hotel room. Use a "traveler's wallet" which hides under your clothes. You should never be without your passport in a foreign country; it's generally illegal and it's the only way to properly identify you.

Scoundreller 4y ago
I’m usually in developed countries with pickpocketing as a problem, so I’m confident in showing my drivers license if I get controlled by police, but if I lose my passport, I’m in trouble. But what if you have 2 passports? Carrying both is a SPoF. Where do you hide the additional?
- Cthulhu_ 4y ago
  > Where do you hide the additional? Definitely not in the room safe, that's the first thing they'll look through. Maybe the hotel has their own safe? But that involves trusting the staff. I think all bets are off if someone with intent breaks into your room and does a full upheaval, but hiding it in your suitcase or e.g. sticking it with some tape under a cabinet or drawer might be adequate.
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    Reminds me of my college days, we’d play “trophy bowl” where teams of 2 against 2 would have to find a hidden object and then place it in a room cup in the centre of the room (or a bowl of a trophy if one was available). Our preferred strategy was to have my teammate pin down the other two so I could search the room uninhibited. Made for great entertainment for anyone watching.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    The other thing with putting things in a hotel safe is forgetting them when you leave. I basically hardly ever put clothes in a closet or a drawer in a hotel because over the course of hundreds of stays, I will forget at some point.

CleaveIt2Beaver 4y ago

Put 'em in a ziplock. Pull out the top drawer of the dresser. Tape baggie to back interior. Replace drawer.